What is Umwelt?

Each functional component of an umwelt has a meaning and so represents the organism’s model of the world. These functional components correspond approximately to perceptual features.It is also the semiotic world of the organism, including all the meaningful aspects of the world for any particular organism, i.e. it can be water, food, shelter, potential threats, or points of reference for navigation. An organism creates and reshapes its own umwelt when it interacts with the world. This is termed a ‘functional circle’. The umwelt theory states that the mind and the world are inseparable, because it is the mind that interprets the world for the organism. Consequently, the umwelten of different organisms differ, which follows from the individuality and uniqueness of the history of every single organism.

Semiosphere

An organism creates and reshapes its own umwelt when it interacts with the world. This is termed a ‘functional circle’. The umwelt theory states that the mind and the world are inseparable, because it is the mind that interprets the world for the organism.

Consequently, the umwelten of different organisms differ, which follows from the individuality and uniqueness of the history of every single organism. When two umwelten interact, this creates a semiosphere.

What if we could use different programmable material to expand the unwelt of an organism? Further, what if we could have different organisms connect in a semiosphere through a material?

Very powerful idea in expanded Umwelt. But to what end/why would we want to? Obviously it’s cool to experience more, but we also note that an animal’s affordances are perceived using it’s umwelt. Does an expanded umwelt imply expanded “pallet” of affordances available to us? Which are the most compelling? How is it bidirectionally interactive? Are these materials that we perceive directly, that we use as tools to perceive other elements of the world, or wearable materials that expand our senses all the time?

-Dan

Penny: I like the idea of being able to dynamically adjust your perspective, as a kind of empathy machine or tool for connectivity. I would suggest thinking about it it terms of HCI; for instance, what might a computer’s umwelt be like?

Concept:

When we are stressed, our bodies release stress hormones. Popular Science found that “Changes in cortisol and other hormones register in your saliva, indicating not only stress but according to a recent study, possibly also how well you respond to it.” Short term stress can be healthy. Long-term stress is dangerous, always telling our bodies that we are in danger or activating different systems to move constantly is taxing and exhausts out bodies.

I am wondering how we can remind our bodies of some interface what kind of stress we are experiencing. Or, creating a system to help us determine if the stress we are experiencing is healthy or damaging.

How:
(Brainstorm)

Create something of which there are many pieces of input—haptic, heat sensors, perspiration, heart beat and more.

AND

Output would be a scent to help you calm down in some way. Or, react based off of what you determine as feedback. Next, you input your feelings before and after.

OR

Output: Lights to communicate to your brain, if it is good stress or bad stress. And, then cognitively acknowledge your feelings.

There is a wide body of previous work around wearables for biometrics-based mood detection/augmentation/modulation, so be cautious of navigating and positioning within it. Smell is a compelling aspect, if you can clarify the argument it the best sense for modulating stress. Combining many biometric monitors to estimate stress levels -esp. good vs. bad stress – is huge task, probably outside the scope of this class. Is there other data we have access to that could be a proxy for stress level? What feedback does the user give and how is it used?

-Dan

Penny: Think about what it really means to be stressed, what do you do, how do you respond, do you try to hide away from the stress, or do you go for a walk, or do you just ignore it? Have a think about some of these natural responses that people already do when they are stressed, and what we already to to try to ‘de-stress’. Perhaps the answer isn’t creating a technology that is aware of you by monitoring, but something you turn to when you are stressed.

Our generation always have this syndrome with internets and phones. people are so trapped into this 5 inch square pixels, they check it all the time and can’t leave without it. We are so addicted to it, They become part of our body, part of our sense. So here we try to wrap it into our body – transform the information from these digital data into part of ourself.

Very pertenant subject – our preoccupation with digital information. But why would access to even more information through additional senses help the situation? How is it interactive? What form does the final artifact take?

-Dan

Penny: Take a look at this work www.thegreeneyl.com/call-me-choke-me I think its relevant, could be interesting to take a hyper-speculative approach to this idea.

Udayan’s comment:

How is the mapping from information in the digital world to senses making the situation better. I think this is an interesting direction. But if you can answer that question by thinking deeper and coming up with some scenarios it could be cool. For example, instead of having to read and reply texts to loved ones(which takes a finite time), can you make the sensations appear through haptics. There is a lot of work on done these lines, particularly, a simple example of this is the heartbeat functionality on Apple watch. Can you go beyond that?

Similar to umwelt idea – adding senses for unseen phenomina. But what is the advantage? Can we then interact with these waves? Is there bidirectionalaity for receiver + transmitter? What would people use such a device for? What is the best formfactor (wearable, device, exhibet, etc.)?

-Dan

Augmenting a human with additional senses has been a widely investigated topic. Read about Synesthesia and Digital Synesthesia.

See this PhD thesis that looks at some of the things you are talking about. Can you go beyond?

Also these works could be inspirational:

Body Hacking: My Magnetic Implant

FEEL MAGNETIC FIELDS THROUGH MAGNETS IMPLANT

Inflating hands is a project simulating our hands to help people manipulate sensitive or fragile stuff. It would use Pneuduino to inflate or deflate rubber, and change the shape of rubber to a shape shown as our control hands’ gestures. In order to create friction to hold, grab, play with stuff with different shapes and weight, the surface of rubber materials are designed with bubbles. The friction of the rubber could be controlled by inflating or deflating the bubbles on its surface.

I like the idea of friction-changing surfaces as tools for augmenting our manipulation capabilities. But when would we not want maximum friction when picking something up? Are there other material properties that contribute to good manipulators? How is this more than a remote-control soft robot arm? Is there an interaction with the device itself, or does it have any autonomy? Does it have digital affordances like copy/paste/scale/rotate that could be useful for manipulation?

-Dan

I love the idea of insect-based subtractive fabrication. This could make a very cool project if it was designed in a compelling way with a good story. But what is the role of the designer in this process? Do they have feedback or influence in the process? Is it an active creative process? Do they have a relationship with the machine, the ants, or both? Is the machine more than a mediator between human intent and ant execution?

-Dan

Ants will follow directed UV light, and thus can be guided en masse. In addition to forming a material together, ants are excellent actuators: they are efficient and systematic builders, and disproportionately strong – carrying large objects.

So ants could be used for additive manufacturing, controlled by light, making an ant-driven 3D printer.

Alternatively, they could support subtractive manufacturing, eating patterns in gel in three dimensions (also in reaction to UV light signals).

Finally, ants can carry and convey messages, serving as an unexpected and innocuous messenger, or a collective art display.

Ants making art; and protesting deforestation (World Wide Nature Fund, 2015)

Ants are cool. Has anyone combined additive and subtractive fabrication with insects? As with Poseidon’s idea, what is the role of the user? What is the role of the machine? What is the interaction? Is there a user?

See the original Seek project from arcitecture machine lab (precurser to media lab)

http://www.cyberneticians.com/slideshow/seek2.html

1969-70 – SEEK – Nicholas Negroponte (American)

-Dan

Plants are, of course, living organisms, but they are also an interesting material. Dead, some plants are adequately sturdy to build human infrastructure, like wood frames. Alive, they behave as responsive materials, growing towards and with sunlight; vines even respond to touch, as they must detect forms to wrap around.

A vine is delicate and flexible, yet strong and durable against the elements. They are smooth to the touch and pleasing to the eye, with curves tailored to the environment. The ubiquitous green soothes human cognition; there is some evidence that looking at the green hues of nature is the minimal visual cognitive load.

Most interestingly, they grow – in response to the sun, the land, and anything in the way.

What if they grew in response to us?

Tracking Personal Growth

In recent years, many people have adapted personal tracking devices – from sleep apps, to FitBits. The output tends to be visualized in graphical or numerical form.

Of course, the main feedback in these pursuits should be internal to you – you feel better rested, more fit, happier, etc. Yet there is a continued interest and desire for more than that – a sense of concrete feedback, and of total growth over time, rather than your experience and status in that moment; hence, the popularity of tracking applications.

What if this growth could be presented in a more tangible form than a mobile graph – like a garden?

Concept

The Personal Growth Garden will embody your personal growth in organic, dynamic, and beautiful forms. Plant a seed when you begin a new goal, and watch it sprout when you commence working on it, and then grow vines upwards and outwards in response to your own progress. Flowers may bloom at key junctures in your journey.

Maintain your efforts, or the vine may wither.

Mechanisms

The Personal Growth Garden may begin as a conceptual model, to serve as inspiration for the development of programmable growth materials.

Alternatively, it could co-opt a responsive hydroponics system, that would vary water, nutrient, and light input to plants in reaction to personal progress. Progress could be tracked with traditional methods (user-input on mobile apps; phone pedometers, etc.) and fed to the system, thus promoting plant growth. 

Finally, the system could involve a material that behaves like a plant, rather than actual organic matter. For example, plastic tubing could be densely packed into “seeds,” and then growth could occur via temperature change and inflation, producing vine-like shapes. The shapes would deflate without continued maintenance.

 The Experience

You can see, feel, and smell your efforts, as the flowers from your special successes bloom. The patterns of their growth are uniquely yours, intersecting with related goals you pursued concurrently. Others can come and admire the garden you have fostered, giving you the opportunity to share in each others’ progress.

I like the literal metaphor of personal growth. One of the cool aspects of tracking apps is the ability to go back and look in detail at a specific datapoint. What is the corresponding interaction with plants? If the plants grow with you, do you also grow with the plants (give you food, happiness, fresh air, etc.)? Could be a cool positive feedback loop. Of course, if you become depressed and your plants start wilting, will you be even sadder? How to avoid negative feedback loops while maintaining the base metaphor?

I also like the experience – sharing your gruarden/growth. Is there a social aspect? Is your growth synergistic or competative with other people’s/plants? Are there parasites taking energy away from your growth? Pestacides to ward them off? Many potential interactions within the metaphor.

-Dan